Upton, Amash again join Dems in vote against Trump border wall maneuver

By: Susan J. Demas - September 28, 2019 4:01 am

President Donald J. Trump stands before a section of border fencing during his visit to the border area of Otay Mesa, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, a neighborhood along the Mexican border in San Diego, Calif. | Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead via Flickr Public Domain

The U.S. House on Friday again voted to stop President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to secure funding for his border wall, following a vote Thursday in the U.S. Senate.

The vote was 236-174 to end Trump’s emergency declaration at the border, with 11 Republicans crossing over. Trump is expected to veto the resolution, as he did before and the chambers failed to garner enough votes to override.

Eight Michigan members of Congress voted to rebuke the president for circumventing Congress to secure funds for the wall, including six Democrats; one Republican, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph); and one independent, U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Cascade Twp.). Both voted the same way when the resolution was up in March. Five Michigan Republicans voted no. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Southfield) didn’t vote.

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The U.S. Senate voted 54-41 on Thursday. It takes a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a veto, which almost certainly won’t happen.

In March, the U.S. House vote on the resolution was 245-182, with 13 Republicans crossing over. At the time, 25 GOP former lawmakers, including former U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), signed a letter urging GOP members of Congress to vote for the resolution, as the Advance reported.

The National Emergencies Act allows Democrats to seek a vote on repealing the emergency declaration every six months.

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“Yet again, I am proud to sign and send to @realDonaldTrump’s desk bipartisan legislation terminating his fake emergency declaration,” U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter.

Trump, who has been busy on Twitter lashing out at Democrats for launching a formal impeachment inquiry this week, has not responded to this vote.

Congressional Democrats and other Trump critics have slammed their GOP colleagues for bypassing the legislative branch and allowing the administration to divert funds for military projects in their home states. The Defense Department announced it would delay or suspend 127 military construction projects to help fund a $3.6 billion wall.

Many states, led by California, have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s declaration, including Michigan.

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Susan J. Demas

Susan J. Demas is a 22-year journalism veteran and one of the state’s foremost experts on Michigan politics, appearing on MSNBC, CNN, NPR and WKAR-TV’s “Off the Record.” In addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief, she is the Advance’s chief columnist, writing on women, LGBTQ+ people, the state budget, the economy and more. She previously served as Vice President of Farough & Associates, Michigan’s premier political communications firm. For almost five years, Susan was the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, the most-cited political newsletter in the state. Susan’s award-winning political analysis has run in more than 90 national, international and regional media outlets, including the Guardian U.K., NBC News, the New York Times, the Detroit News and MLive. She is the only Michigan journalist to be named to the Washington Post’s list of “Best Political Reporters,” the Huffington Post’s list of “Best Political Tweeters” and the Washington Post’s list of “Best Political Bloggers.” Susan was the recipient of a prestigious Knight Foundation fellowship in nonprofits and politics. She served as Deputy Editor for MIRS News and helped launch the Michigan Truth Squad, the Center for Michigan’s fact-checking project. She started her journalism career reporting on the Iowa caucuses for The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette. Susan has hiked over 5,000 solo miles across four continents and climbed more than 80 mountains. She also enjoys dragging her husband and two kids along, even if no one else wants to sleep in a tent anymore.